Bullet-Proof Clothing and Buffering Cushion Thereof

ABSTRACT

A bullet-proof clothing includes a clothing body, and an inflatable buffering cushion disposed on an inner side of the clothing body and including a first cushion layer having a first surface connected to the clothing body and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a second cushion layer having a surface facing the second surface of the first cushion layer, a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members interconnecting the second surface of the first cushion layer and the surface of the second cushion layer, and at least one air valve disposed on one of the first and second cushion layers. The first and second cushion layers and the connecting members cooperatively define a buffering space for receiving high-pressure air.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Patent Application No.103146572 filed on Dec. 31, 2014, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated in its entirety by reference.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a clothing, more particularly to abullet-proof clothing and a buffering cushion thereof.

BACKGROUND

When a law enforcement performs his duty or when a person is threatenedwith his life, he usually wears a bullet-proof clothing to preventpenetration of a bullet into his body when shot, thereby protectinghimself from injury or life-threatening situation. However, when abullet is fired toward the user, because the bullet's impact strength isquite strong, the existing bullet-proof clothing cannot fully absorb theimpact of the bullet, so that the residual impact of the bullet willcontinue to strike the user's body through the bullet-proof clothing.This often results in the user's body having bruises and/or swelling.Hence, there is still room for improvement for the existing bullet-proofclothing.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a bullet-proofclothing that has an improved and reliable structure.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a bullet-proof clothing forpreventing penetration of a bullet into the body of a user comprises aclothing body configured to be worn on the body of the user, and aninflatable buffering cushion disposed on an inner side of the clothingbody. The inflatable buffering cushion includes a first cushion layerhaving a first surface connected to the clothing body and a secondsurface opposite to the first surface, a second cushion layer having afirst surface facing the second surface of the first cushion layer and asecond surface opposite to the first surface of the second cushion layerand configured to face the body of the user, a plurality of spaced-apartconnecting members disposed between and interconnecting the secondsurface of the first cushion layer and the first surface of the secondcushion layer, and at least one air valve disposed on one of the firstand second cushion layers. The first and second cushion layers haveperipheral edges sealed to each other. The first cushion layer, thesecond cushion layer and the connecting members cooperatively define abuffering space for receiving high-pressure air. When the inflatablebuffering cushion is inflated with the high-pressure air, and theclothing body receives an impact of the bullet, the buffering space iscompressed to buffer the impact of the bullet so as to prevent theuser's body from being hurt due to the impact, and a part of thehigh-pressure air in the buffering space is simultaneously releasedthrough the at least one air valve.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an inflatable bufferingcushion comprises a first cushion layer having a first surface and asecond surface opposite to the first surface, a second cushion layerhaving a first surface facing the second surface of the first cushionlayer and a second surface opposite to the first surface of the secondcushion layer, a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members disposedbetween and interconnecting the second surface of the first cushionlayer and the first surface of the second cushion layer, and at leastone air valve disposed on one of the first and second cushion layers.The first and second cushion layers have peripheral edges sealed to eachother. The first cushion layer, the second cushion layer and theconnecting members cooperatively define a buffering space for receivinghigh-pressure air. When the inflatable buffering cushion is inflatedwith the high-pressure air and receives an impact of the bullet, thebuffering space is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet so asto prevent the user's body from being hurt due to the impact, and a partof the high-pressure air in the buffering space is simultaneouslyreleased through the at least one air valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent inthe following detailed description of the embodiments with reference tothe accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bullet-proof clothing according to thefirst embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top sectional view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of a bullet-proofclothing according to the second embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top sectional view of the second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present disclosure is described in greater detail withreference to the accompanying embodiments, it should be noted hereinthat like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughoutthe disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a bullet-proof clothing according to thefirst embodiment of the disclosure is shown to comprise a clothing body1, an inflatable buffering cushion 2 and a fastening unit 3. Theclothing body 1 may be made of a bullet-proof material having hightensile strength, for example, aromatic polyamide fibers, such as Kevlarwhich has a bullet-proof function. The clothing body 1 may be in theform of a bullet-proof vest, a bullet-proof jacket, etc., to be wornoutside of a user's body (not shown) for preventing penetration of abullet into the user's body. Since the structure and form of theclothing body 1 are not important aspects of the present disclosure, adetailed description thereof is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

The inflatable buffering cushion 2 is disposed on an inner side of theclothing body 1, and includes a first cushion layer 21 having a firstsurface 211 facing the inner side of the clothing body 1 and a secondsurface 212 opposite to the first surface 211, a second cushion layer 22having a first surface 221 facing the second surface 212 of the firstcushion layer 21 and a second surface 222 opposite to the first surface221 and configured to face the body of the user, and a plurality ofspaced-apart connecting members 23 disposed between and interconnectingthe second surface 212 of the first cushion layer 21 and the firstsurface 221 of the second cushion layer 22. The first and second cushionlayers 21, 22 have peripheral edges sealed to each other in aconventional manner. In this embodiment, each connecting member 23 is asolid column. In practice, the number, the disposition, the length andthe thickness of the connecting members 23 may be adjusted according tothe actual need.

The first cushion layer 21, the second cushion layer 22 and theconnecting members 23 cooperatively define a buffering space 24 forreceiving high-pressure air.

In this embodiment, the pressure of the high-pressure air inside thebuffering space 24 ranges from 1.1 to 5 atmospheres. If the air pressureis smaller than 1.1 atmospheres, the buffering effect is poor; on theother hand, if the air pressure is greater than 5 atmospheres, it isdifficult to inflate the high-pressure air into the buffering space 24,and the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 are easy to explode. Thematerial of each of the first cushion layer 21, the second cushion layer22 and the connecting members 23 is selected from the group consistingof thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polypropylene (PP), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET),which has resiliency, elasticity and air impermeability. In practice,the first and second cushion layers 21, 22 and the connecting members 23may be manufactured using, for example, 3D printing or otherconventional plastic molding methods.

The inflatable buffering cushion 2 further includes a plurality ofspaced-apart air valves 25 disposed on one of the first and secondcushion layers 21, 22 adjacent to a junction thereof. The air valves 25may be mounted on the collar, cuffs, hem or lapels of the clothing body1. Moreover, the number of the air valve 25 may be increased ordecreased depending on the requirement. For example, the bufferingcushion 2 may include just one air valve 25. The air valves 25 fluidlycommunicate with the buffering space 24 for introducing or releasinghigh-pressure air into or out of the buffering space 24. Since the airvalves 25 are generally known in the art, the commercially available airvalves 25 maybe used, so that a detailed description thereof is omittedherein. In use, with the air valves 25 regulating the air pressure inthe buffering space 24, the buffering capacity of the buffering cushion2 can be relatively adjusted according to the different requirements.

The fastening unit 3 of this embodiment fixedly fastens the bufferingcushion 2 to the inner side of the clothing body 1. The fastening unit 3includes a double-sided adhesive tape 31 adhered between the inner sideof the clothing body 1 and the first surface 211 of the first cushionlayer 21. In practice, the fastening unit 3 may include a plurality ofdouble-sided adhesive tapes 31, or may be replaced by glue or otherstructures. For instance, the fastening unit 3 may include at least onesewing thread (not shown) for sewing the buffering cushion 2 to theclothing body 1, or a liner (not shown) sewn to the clothing body 1 withthe buffering cushion 2 sandwiched between the liner and the clothingbody 1. Hence, the structure of the fastening unit 3 is not limited towhat is disclosed in the first embodiment.

In use, the buffering cushion 2 is inflated with high-pressure air. Thatis, the high-pressure air is introduced and filled into the bufferingspace 24 through the air valves 25 so as to expand and separate thefirst and second cushion layers 21, 22. Concurrent with this expandingaction, the connecting members 23 disposed between the first and secondcushion layers 21, 22 generate elastic tightening reaction forces. Thatis, the connecting members 23 apply pulling forces on the first andsecond cushion layers 21, 22 so that every portion of the first andsecond cushion layers 21, 22 can maintain an appropriate distance. Asviewed from the appearance of the buffering cushion 2 shown in FIG. 3,the portion of the second cushion layer 22 located on each connectingmember 23 is concave inwardly, while the portion between each twoadjacent connecting members 23 is convex outwardly. Hence, the secondcushion layer 22 is formed with a plurality of depressions at positionscorresponding to the connecting members 23 to facilitate ventilation andheat dissipation, thereby providing comfort to the user during use ofthe bullet-proof clothing of the disclosure.

When the clothing body 1 receives a strong impact of the bullet andtransmits the impact force to the first cushion layer 21, the bufferingspace 24 is compressed to buffer the impact force. Because thehigh-pressure air is uniformly distributed in the buffering space 24, itcan absorb and disperse the impact force uniformly so as to reduce oreven eliminate the continuing effect of the impact force on the secondcushion layer 22, thereby preventing the user's body from being hurt dueto the impact. Thus, the buffering cushion 2 can provide a comprehensivesecurity protection to the user's body. Of course, when thehigh-pressure air in the buffering space 24 is compressed by the strongimpact force, a part of the high-pressure air is simultaneously releasedthrough the air valves 25, so that not only the buffering effect can beenhanced, the buffering cushion 2 can be prevented from explosion anddamage as well. Therefore, the bullet-proof clothing of the disclosureis safe to use.

When not in use, the buffering cushion 2 is squeezed to force thehigh-pressure air out of the buffering space 24 through the air valves25, thereby restoring the buffering cushion 2 to a flat state that doesnot occupy a substantial space. Hence, the bullet-proof clothing of thedisclosure can be rolled or folded to facilitate its storage andtransport.

It should be noted herein that the buffering cushion 2 of thisembodiment can be sold together with the clothing body 1 or sold alone.In practice, the first cushion layer 21 of the buffering cushion 2 maybe provided with the fastening unit 3 to facilitate the user to fastenit to the inner side of the clothing body 1 by himself or herself.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the second embodiment of the bullet-proofclothing according to this disclosure is shown to be generally identicalto the first embodiment, and only differs in that the fastening unit 3of the second embodiment removably fastens the buffering cushion 2 tothe inner side of the clothing body 1. The fastening unit 3 includes afirst fastener 32 having a plurality of loops 321 disposed on the innerside of the clothing body 1, and a second fastener 33 having a pluralityof hooks 331 disposed on the first surface 211 of the first cushionlayer 21 of the buffering cushion 2 and removably engaging the loops 321of the first fastener 32. Through such a configuration, the bufferingcushion 2 can be easily attached to and detached from the clothing body1. Hence, the bullet-proof clothing of this embodiment is convenient touse. In practice, the structure of the fastening unit 3 may be changed.For instance, the fastening unit 3 may include a zipper (not shown)removably disposed between the clothing body 1 and the buffering cushion2, or a pocket (not shown) disposed on the inner side of the clothingbody 1 for removably accommodating the buffering cushion 2. Thus, thestructure of the fastening unit 3 is not limited to what is disclosed inthe second embodiment.

In sum, by providing the inner side of the clothing body 1 with thebuffering cushion 2, by interconnecting the second surface 212 of thefirst cushion layer 21 and the first surface 221 of the second cushionlayer 22 through the connecting members 23 that serve as tensilesupports, and by mounting the air valves 25 on one of the first andsecond cushion layers 21, 22 adjacent to the junction thereof, when thebullet-proof clothing of the disclosure is used by the user, thebuffering cushion 2 is first inflated with the high-pressure air. Whenthe clothing body 1 suffers an impact of the bullet, the bufferingsurface 24 is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet, therebypreventing the user's body from being hurt due to the impact. Hence, thebullet-proof clothing of this disclosure has a good security protectionfunction. Further, a part of the high-pressure air can be released fromthe air valves 25 during the impact, so that the buffering cushion 2 canbe prevented from explosion. Therefore, the bullet-proof clothing of thedisclosure is safe to use. Therefore, the objects of this disclosure canbe realized.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what areconsidered the most practical embodiments, it is understood that thisdisclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intendedto cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope ofthe broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modificationsand equivalent arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bullet-proof clothing for preventingpenetration of a bullet into the body of a user, comprising: a clothingbody configured to be worn on the body of the user; and an inflatablebuffering cushion disposed on an inner side of said clothing body, andincluding a first cushion layer having a first surface connected to saidclothing body and a second surface opposite to said first surface, asecond cushion layer having a first surface facing said second surfaceof said first cushion layer and a second surface opposite to said firstsurface of said second cushion layer and configured to face the body ofthe user, a plurality of spaced-apart connecting members disposedbetween and interconnecting said second surface of said first cushionlayer and said first surface of said second cushion layer, and at leastone air valve disposed on one of said first and second cushion layers,said first and second cushion layers having peripheral edges sealed toeach other; wherein said first cushion layer, said second cushion layerand said connecting members cooperatively define a buffering space forreceiving high-pressure air; wherein, when said inflatable bufferingcushion is inflated with the high-pressure air, and said clothing bodyreceives an impact of the bullet, said buffering space is compressed tobuffer the impact of the bullet so as to prevent the user's body frombeing hurt due to the impact, and a part of the high-pressure air insaid buffering space is simultaneously released through said at leastone air valve.
 2. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1,further comprising a fastening unit for fixing said inflatable bufferingcushion on said inner side of said clothing body.
 3. The bullet-proofclothing as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fastening unit includes atleast one double-sided adhesive tape adhered between said inner side ofsaid clothing body and said first surface of said first cushion layer.4. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising afastening unit removably fastening said inflatable buffering cushion tosaid inner side of said clothing body.
 5. The bullet-proof clothing asclaimed in claim 4, wherein said fastening unit includes a firstfastener disposed on said inner side of said clothing body, and a secondfastener disposed on said first cushion layer and removably engagingsaid first fastener.
 6. The bullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1,wherein said inflatable buffering cushion is made of a material selectedfrom the group consisting of thermoplastic polyurethane, polypropylene,polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate.
 7. Thebullet-proof clothing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure insidesaid buffering space ranges from 1.1 to 5 atmospheres.
 8. An inflatablebuffering cushion comprising: a first cushion layer having a firstsurface and a second surface opposite to said first surface; a secondcushion layer having a first surface facing said second surface of saidfirst cushion layer and a second surface opposite to said first surfaceof said second cushion layer; said first and second cushion layershaving peripheral edges sealed to each other; a plurality ofspaced-apart connecting members disposed between and interconnectingsaid second surface of said first cushion layer and said first surfaceof said second cushion layer; and at least one air valve disposed on oneof said first and second cushion layers; wherein said first cushionlayer, said second cushion layer and said connecting memberscooperatively define a buffering space for receiving high-pressure air;wherein, when said inflatable buffering cushion is inflated with thehigh-pressure air and receives an impact of the bullet, said bufferingspace is compressed to buffer the impact of the bullet so as to preventthe user's body from being hurt due to the impact, and a part of thehigh-pressure air in said buffering space is simultaneously releasedthrough said at least one air valve.
 9. The inflatable buffering cushionas claimed in claim 8, wherein said first cushion layer is provided witha fastening unit.
 10. The inflatable buffering cushion as claimed inclaim 8, wherein the pressure inside said buffering space ranges from1.1 to 5 atmospheres.